


Borrowed Time

by HannaVictoria



Series: Swearing in American Sign Language [1]
Category: Maggot Boy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Twenty Minutes into the Future, lighter and softer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 03:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6103975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HannaVictoria/pseuds/HannaVictoria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teenagers are terrible. Ask anyone, they were a terrible person when they were a teenager. Most of us grow out of it. Sometimes kids die before they get the chance. Well these three didn't. They grew up, they got lives, and careers, and payed their taxes. Was it all borrowed time? Is it actually up? </p><p>What would it be like to grow up where end of the world wasn't the end? Where your classmates clawed themselves from their graves? What kind of legal case must "Do sentient flesh-eating cadavers have inalienable rights?" have been?</p><p>Blake, Alan, and Sean are regular guys in a really weird world. They've always tried to avoid learning how weird.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Borrowed Time

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't read Maggot Boy in in month's and I probably never will again. One day the darkness and killing every damn minor character I ever liked just got to be too much.  
> So why this? Because I love Maggot Boy I just can't take the dark tone. You like comparatively fluffy bunnies Maggot Boy you'll probably like this.
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTE 1: I was always getting names wrong or not knowing them cause with minor characters it wasn't always clear. As such here a list Bruiser Cultist: Seamus, Goth Chick Cultist: Marcy, Main Bully with nice hair: Blake, shortest bully: Alan, biggest bully: Sean. I realize this is annoying, but I promised myself I wouldn't go back. I Can't. O_O
> 
> Important Note 2: I dropped off the face of the fandom just as Owen was misgendered. Is Owen assigned female at birth in the comics: I don't know I didn't stick around to find out. Is he in this story or anything else I do: I have no clue, because that's his business not anyone else's. It is unlikely to ever come up.
> 
> For a better summation of what I hope to accomplish with this mess see the series page.

“Guess Fiend got stabbed for fucking nothing then.” The last thing he thought before everything went dark. 

‘Guess I died?’ he thought as everything came back into focus.

‘but then… Oh Fuck!’ He’d suddenly realized he was looking at the same room he’d been in before. Still chained to a goddamn wall by guys who made the rest of the cult look like Daisy Scouts. He looked to either side. His friends weren’t moving and so, so covered in blood. ‘So am I the only one who lived?’ he started to panic ‘Okay just breath. Focus on your breathing and your-’ heartbeat. You never need to check for your own heartbeat it echoes through you constantly your whole life. The things you take for granted.

He looked down ‘That’s way too much blood.’ He didn’t care anymore who heard him “Alan! Sean! Please get up!” He whispered, but he couldn’t hear himself how would they? He said it again a little louder then again and still more. He kept trying until he was certain he should have been screaming.

‘Oh, right.’ He remembered that overly bombastic ringleader had taken an embossed handled knife and… ‘I’m pretty sure that thing was meant for fish and not my goddamn throat! “Ceremonial dagger” my ass!’ before he could fume further he heard a small groan to his left. “Alan” still nothing came out when he said that. 

“Blake! Dude your-” Alan stopped short taking a long look at his friends neck “Oh.” Was all he said before looking down to survey his own damage “Heh.” Alan laughed, “In a way you kinda lucked out man.” He said in a resigned tone. Looking back down at the blood on his lower mid torso he continued, “They just kept missing.” He didn’t say anything for a long while after that.

‘Okay! I get it! I’m a dick! This doesn’t mean I deserved this! None of us did!’ He looked over at Sean still probably dead and odds are staying that way, an ugly bloodstain over his heart. ‘We should probably just count ourselves lucky they didn’t tear it out and eat it!’ Blake thought back to his neck to the small scar that was already there ‘Am I seriously sharing a species-or-whatever with that freak!’ a horrible thought occurred to him ‘Fuck. The Jones Brothers.’

As if on cue a crash rang through the room as the door went flying off it’s hinges into the opposing wall. Five figures stepping into the room most of them painfully familiar. ‘Great, just great.’ 

One of the smallest figures stepped forward toward the three chained boys “Jesus.” Parker Jones. ‘You’re the last person I need pity from.’ Blake thought angrily. Parker pulled off his bonds like it was nothing even steadying his short drop to the floor. Jones’ hand lingered on his chest for a moment before moving upward. 

“Don’t you fucking dare!” He’d tried to say it of course didn’t work. Parker removed his hand having connected the dots. The “boy” gave him a smile that was meant to be reassuring “I. Don’t. Need. Your. Pity.” Blake mouthed out clear as he could, staring directly at Parker so he could definitely see. 

A sarcastic snort “You want us to leave you.” Micah said whilst looking over the damage. Checking for a pulse that wasn’t there then moving on to probing the wound “Well that explains it. Spine’s good. Esophagus good. Well this explains it Vocal Chords severed and not cleanly either. The hell’d they manage miss everything else?” He said to PJ. 

Blake barely heard him. Micah smelled… good? ‘Shit.’ He was hungry Blake suddenly noticed not a lot but hungry all the same and Micah smelled like food. It was a small relief that his brain still thought of him as a person too. It was much like a pet chicken you’d never want to eat her in a million years yet looking at her you knew she was food. It was far more disturbing with a human. 

Suddenly he remembered the “Feral” state Awares went into when they got too hungry. He promptly poked Micah to get his attention and gestured to his stomach. “Oh wow! Jeez thanks seriously where is my brain!” Micah rambled off a little startled. ‘Oh my God. Could you sound a little less like you walked out of your house without your keys? This is serious!’ Micah totally ignored Blake’s frustration or maybe didn’t notice he was already rifling through his pockets when he came up with some jerky. It was vacuum packed in one of those home vacuum sealer bags and had written in sharpie “Do Not Eat” on covering both sides of the bag.

Blake quirked an eyebrow, but Micah was ignoring him in favor of Davey who was dealing with Alan. “Davey?” He held up the jerky and gestured at Alan. Davey seemed to understand and pulled out some of his own “Don’t mind the label. Just trying to cut down on the chance of emotional trauma and ya know Kuru.”

Both boys took the jerky. It wasn’t very good. While they tried to choke it down a laugh came from the corridor outside as one of the institute strike team. She judging from her voice was covered from head to toe in heavy combat gear. She removed her helmet revealing a woman with bright red hair braided and held tight to her skull and A LOT of freckles “Nothing quite like watching you guys try and choke those down. So is it two out of three or a full house did you check?”

“Ooh! Let me!” sounded the voice from the boys’ nightmares. Hanging back like he had they hadn’t even noticed him, but there he was. The little red haired horror dashed from the room.

He looked at Micah horror evident “He’s been deemed no longer a danger to himself or others, he has a regular humane food supply, he’s still under constant psych monitoring. I don’t like it either, but he listens to PJ most of the time, Bastion a lot of the time, some of us some of the time, and everybody else never. We’ve already tried a cell, repeatedly. He’s too “valuable” to the Institute to just shoot. So we’re stuck with him.”

Before Blake or Alan could process this He came running back in with something that smelled disturbingly good. He was holding a rather macabre sight; a Chinese take-out container with red biohazard take all around the sides covering whatever logo it had. With the same manic grin he used wielding that damn hacksaw he pulled out a lukewarm kidney and waved it in front of Sean’s face.

He stirred. Then promptly screamed. ‘We really all made it.’ Blake thought numbly, not quite believing. “Back off him, Owen.” The tallest man said in an even, but firm tone. Owen complied wandering back out the room with the kidney. 

“Names Chainey by the way. Anthony Chainey technically, but Chainey’s what everyone calls me.” Chainey said to all three of them as he pulled Sean’s restraints off and offered him one of those jerky things. All three took a second to take the man in. They had met all the other Awares from before except him. He was very tall, not a lot of visible stiches, an impression of an even temper, and multicolor hair. Light blue, white, and black.

“So Ashley,” He turned to the armored woman “When can we get these guys out of here?”

“It’ll be a bit still.” She turned to address the three directly “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I’m thrilled you boys got back up, but you were still murdered.” All three flinched to varying degrees. That was the first time anyone had really said it. After a minute she continued, “We need to do our do diligence. This sect has done this before and they’ll do it again. So please cooperate as much as you can with the CIs.” She paused again “This has been a hard day, but I’d like you to give some thought to testifying. I’d certainly help.” 

She turned to the door and before putting her helmet back on she gave her goodbye “It was a pleasure meeting you boys despite the circumstances. Take care now.”

**Author's Note:**

> I don't believe in killing off characters in most any circumstance. In the case of the bullies I couldn't help but think of them growing up and growing through adversity. As I had no desire to write a bunch of brats saying horrible shit cause they thought it was cool I let life's little adversities and a brush with Owen do some of the maturing before we ever get started. They aren't done yet of course, my world is leagues kinder then cannon is but it's still not fun to be an Aware.
> 
> I have some more of this AU. Both this present where the three are finding their feet again and also how they got here. Parker died, rose, and otherwise stayed with Davey through everything so the two are a bit different and by extension so is the rest of the cast. 
> 
> PLEASE feel free to post any and all comments and questions no matter how small. I super like talking with you guys. Can you spot the Ships? There's the beginning of an unorthodox ship in here somewhere. Also PJxBaz Obviously.
> 
> P.S. I have no idea why Owen is running around mostly scott-free. Probably cause I like him too damn much. I know it doesn't make much sense.


End file.
